This week’s teacher: Kelly Merydith

Kelly Merydith began practicing yoga regularly in 2008 during lunch and after work with Vinnie Hunihan at Akal Yoga Studio in the Chicago Board of Trade Building. While earning her degree in Finance and Marketing at Northeastern University in Boston, she continued learning various styles. In 2010, Kelly completed the 200-hour teacher training at YogaWorks in Santa Monica, Calif. with Kia Miller and Sonya Cottle. In 2012 she completed Moksha’s 500-hr training program. In 2011 she opened Ahimsa Yoga Studio in Oak Park. In 2015 she opened Ahimsa Yoga Studio in Berwyn with her childhood friend, Masin Ouksel, and acquired Blissed Out Yoga in Elmhurst with him in June of 2016, now Ahimsa Yoga Studio Elmhurst. Her website is www.ahimsayogastudios.com.

2. How has yoga changed your life? Yoga has saved me from a career in finance and a life of anxiety!

3. What is the philosophy you try to instill in your students? I emphasize mindfulness and meditation in each class. I try to make sure students are practicing asana safely and within their own abilities. I remind them to focus on the breath to feel a balance of ease and effort in every class.

4. What was one of your most profound moments in teaching? My most profound moment was teaching the first half of Ahimsa’s first yoga teacher training in an immersion format this summer. It took a lot of preparation and I was very nervous, but the experience turned out to be better than I’d imagined and was extremely rewarding.

5. What do you see influencing or affecting yoga teachers and students in the next five years? I think technology and social media will influence teachers and students more. People are using more technology to market themselves and connect. I am able to run my three studios mostly remotely from Santa Monica. But I think all the asana photos [on Instagram and Facebook] turn a lot of potential students off.